In passing: Boise Republicans have "festive" first caucus

BOISE — Doug Lawrence mostly did not get what he wanted on Super Tuesday.

After putting in the effort to attend Ada County’s first caucus with his wife and son — shifting around work schedules, finding a handicapped parking spot and barely making it in the door in time — Lawrence was there to help Rick Santorum make a strong showing.

When Santorum came in as a distant second with 22.83 percent of the vote to Mitt Romney’s 51.79 in the first round of voting, Lawrence was a bit disappointed. He saw the attendees as split between moderates and constitutional conservatives, and like much of the GOP nation, the latter divided all over the board between Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

Unlike most, however, Lawrence’s issue with Romney wasn’t his wealth or stiffness. He was concerned with how Romney prioritized his faith.

“You see, Mitt Romney has an allegiance to the Mormon Church that’s above his allegiance to the US Constitution,” he said.

“And I don’t mean that as a criticism,” he quickly qualified. “We’re both Christians and we’re going to vote Christian. We’re going to vote for God.”

Come November, Lawrence said he would coalesce around whomever the Republicans nominate so that Barack Obama is defeated. Unlike some die-hard Ron Paul supporters, who say they would support Paul if he ran as part of a third party, Lawrence said he will vote Republican.

Even though the outcome of the caucus didn’t go as planned, Lawrence was happy he attended.